Legislature news in brief: April 27, 2013

The state’s top higher education board doesn’t support the community college system’s solo efforts to get construction funding outside of the traditional budget process.

The state’s top higher education board doesn’t support the community college system’s solo efforts to get construction funding outside of the traditional budget process.The Board of Regents on Thursday told the head of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System that the proposed legislation he is supporting violates the state constitution.After the hearing, Community College System President Joe May said he still would recommend that the community and technical colleges continue to pursue passage of the legislation.The bill would allow LCTCS to skip the state construction budget process that forces hundreds of projects across the state to compete for limited annual funding. Bill sponsor, Sen. Robert Adley, says he’ll continue to push the legislation.

The House voted 87-0 to rewrite the state law that requires public schools to have a written crisis management plan, to require local law enforcement to help with designing the plans and requiring annual safety drills to rehearse them.House Bill 718, by Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, moves to the Senate for discussion. It was prompted by the recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.Voting for the bill Thursday were Houma-Thibodaux area Reps. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville; Lenar Whitney, R-Houma; Truck Gisclair, D-Larose; and Dee Richard, a Thibodaux independent. Gordy Dove, R-Houma, was absent.

A proposal to toughen existing limitations on funeral protests received unanimous approval from the Senate. Under current law, a person can be charged with disturbing the peace if obstructing a funeral or memorial service. The change would extend that to include the funeral route and set a perimeter banning protesters within 500 feet of the funeral. Senate Bill 72 now heads to a House committee.All four Houma-Thibodaux area senators were present for the unanimous vote in favor of the measure. They are Norby Chabert, R-Houma; Brett Allain, R-Jeanerette; Troy Brown, D-Napoleonville; and Gary Smith, D-Norco.

An attempt to cover more uninsured people in the state’s Medicaid program, as allowed under the federal Affordable Care Act, was rejected Wednesday by a House committee.After five hours of debate, the House Health and Welfare Committee voted along party lines, 11-8, to defeat the measure and support the stance of Gov. Bobby Jindal. Republicans opposed the Medicaid expansion and Democrats supported it.Wednesday’s vote wasn’t expected to be the Louisiana Legislature’s final word on the Medicaid expansion, however. The Senate’s health committee planned to take a vote on the idea next week, and other similar proposals remain pending before the House panel.The health care law pushed by President Barack Obama allows the expansion to cover adults making up to 138 percent of the poverty level — less than $32,000 for a family of four. The federal government will pick up most of the cost.Expansion opponents say it would still be too costly for the state and would expand an inefficient and outdated Medicaid program.Kathy Kliebert, interim secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals for the Jindal administration, said the expansion could shift people from private insurance to government-funded health care.She said federal regulations on the expansion remain sketchy.

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